


Temptation

by Sleepy_fan



Series: Justice Lords AU [3]
Category: DC Animated Universe, Justice Lords - Fandom
Genre: AU, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Justice Lords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-06 05:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14050458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_fan/pseuds/Sleepy_fan
Summary: When his brothers (except for Jon) and their father are out of the solar system for a while, Conner is tempted to have Jon meet with his mom, Lois, as he knows that the other has missed her terribly. Will he give into the temptation, or will his loyalty to Lord Superman win out?





	Temptation

Jon, Conner noted, was getting increasingly restless. Not that the older half-Kryptonian blamed him. Jon craved and needed attention and affection from his family members, and all of them were incredibly busy most of the time – which caused the other to feel anxious and uncertain about his place in their family. In addition to that, he’d been taken from his mother when he was about five or six… As father hadn’t realized that Lois had been pregnant when she’d divorced him, and the other’s former wife had hidden both the pregnancy and the fact that she’d given birth to their son from him. Her excuses were that She believed Jon to be safer, with her, in the tiny apartment in a distant suburb of Metropolis, rather than in the care of father… She believed the Kryptonian to be unstable and a tyrant, neither of which were true in the least.

The separation from Lois had been traumatic for his baby brother, but after father had introduced himself, as well as himself and their siblings, he had cheered up immensely. But Conner could also tell that Jon still missed Lois – and wanted to see her again… Not that Jon would ever say that within hearing range of their father, as all of them were very much aware of the fact that Lois was still a pretty harsh sore spot – and rightly so… Given that Kal had fallen deeply in love with Lois, and when he had needed to lean on her for support the most during the difficult and lengthy transition between governmental structures, she had turned against him, accusing him of being a ruthless tyrant, rather than even trying to understand and empathize with why he and the other Justice Lords had done what they had.

Conner also remembered how clever and determined Lois was, and that despite her sometimes harsh exterior, she was a wonderful, kind and loving person, and the young clone missed being able to talk with her. She was almost as busy as father had been, as she was an investigative journalist for one of the best papers in the country – if not the world.  Conner had been dropped off at Father and Lois' apartment, shortly after he and Match had been rescued from Cadmus by their father. Kal had taken Match to the fortress first for training - as the other was a full Kryptonian clone, and therefore the other was in need of training first - and the cloning process that Cadmus had used was far from perfect - especially since they'd been artificially aged up faster than a human human - or Kryptonian - in order to potentially create the living weapons they so desired.

The young man had only been aware of his surroundings for a a handful of months - and almost all of that time had been spent under Cadmus' harsh and demanding training - while also being used against his older brother, in order to get the other to behave properly for the human scientists... He had been so very new to the world then, having been taught so much by Cadmus - but not nearly enough of what mattered socially - or about the wonders of the world, beyond the fighting, languages and other things that he'd been taught for academic and other similar purposes. Lois had been kind to him - but did not demean his intelligence - she patiently explained things to him, and she let him explore the natural areas surrounding Metropolis (as the city itself was entirely too noisy and crowded at that time for his new enhanced senses to handle, outside of the apartment building that Lois and his father had lived in at the time - as the place had been enhanced and reinforced subtly to accommodate those who had heightened senses.

 He shook himself a little - remembering how kind Lois had been - and how fiercely protective she was. Jon was antsy because most of their brothers as well as father were going to be off planet for the next few weeks - and Kal, Chris and Hunter would be out of the solar system, attending a galactic summit of some kind. Laney and Match were going to be negotiating with some of the leaders of the lantern corps, in the hopes that they might stop trying to interfere with the running of the Sol Alliance, as the lawful leaders were running things perfectly fine, thank you very much, Simply because they disagreed how the worlds were run, did not give them the right to invade, causing misery and mayhem in an attempt to "liberate" the populace... Kara would be accompanying Match and Laney for a little bit of an extra... Insurance that they would listen to the two of them, as she was also a full, adult member of the House of El, if not the leader of their Kryptonian House... Which was apparently really important for some reason, outside of the solar system that Conner had been born in.

While there would be other members of the Justice Lords on Earth, as well as on Mars... No one would be watching or listening them with the casual intensity that Father or their siblings would be... And it was an opportunity for Connor to bring Jon to Lois - as he knew that his youngest brother desperately missed his mother, and he had a hunch that Lois also missed Jon very much as well. He had a week and a half where the two of them would be the only ones on Earth - and the young clone was very tempted to bring his youngest brother to wherever Lois was, so that the two of them could interact with one another... Although since he did have a little over a week before any of their family would check in with them... He could even drop in on Lois, to see if she had the time and the ability to spend say... a few hours, or even a couple of days with Jon.

Conner was also very much aware of the fact that if someone caught him doing this, he would be in a breathtaking amount of trouble - and while he might convince Chris that he and Jon might just so happen to have been in the same area as Lois, and Jon had spotted her before Conner could try to get their baby brother away from her manipulative machinations... Hunter might be able to see through his lie, and Match, Father or Aunt Kara definitely would... And he was pretty sure that Laney would try to kill him for bringing such agony upon his younger twin brother, which was something the young clone would rather not have to deal with for the next few years.

The young half-Kryptonian had managed to convince himself that he should at least see if Lois was interested in seeing Jon - there was every chance that she was off chasing a story in a foreign country, or had decided to wash her hands of all of them - as there were... Rumors that she might be involved with the resistance - why they thought that fighting against Father was a good idea at all, Conner had no idea... But some humans had the strangest and most stubbornly hard headed thoughts in their head - as well as self-destructive. But that was one of the reasons why the Justice Lords had taken control of the planet. To ensure that peace and safety was available for all...

Which was why Conner was currently sitting in one of Lois' favorite cafes that were near the daily planet, just before she had lunch. More often than not, she ate at this cafe- or at least got something to go, eating at her desk while working on a writing project that she just couldn't set down, simply to eat and relax. He was wearing civilian clothes - a red T-shirt, blue jeans and a black leather jacket. He was also wearing dark sunglasses, to hide his eyes, and his hair was neatly combed back - rather than in it's usual mess of spikes all over the place. He had ordered something to eat, and sat down at a small table, facing the entrance to the cafe, watching for the reporter while also listening for her heartbeat - she was in the office building... Or a very, very good recording of her heartbeat was there. He was also pretending to type away on a laptop - a textbook propped up next to him, giving the illusion that he was a college student, here for the good food and free wifi between classes that wasn't on campus.

 A TV was playing which was rather distracting - as the speakers were loud enough for the patrons to hear what was going on clearly - and the newscaster was speaking "-day marks the fifteenth year since the Justice Lords...  Ended a vast majority of crime - and tomorrow marks the day that Lord Superboy... Both of them... First appeared on a global stage twelve years ago. In other news, Cadmus laboratories has recently announced that they are about to release a new type of solar panel that, if works as advertised, will render all forms of coal and even gasoline completely obsolete."

 Connor jumped a little at the mention of Cadmus, and a wave of guilt washed over the young clone - something that he'd been trying to suppress for the better part of the morning, as he was rather forcibly reminded of the first time that he and Match first met their father.

_~_

_The scientists had been getting more frantic – almost by the hour on some days, from what Project Kr could tell. The G-gnomes instructed him mentally what he needed to do and he did them – at times calming down his older brother, Project Match, who was often very mistrustful and angry at the scientists – as the other did seem to care for him back. The other tried to convince him that they should try to escape from the labs that they were being held at – but where else would the two of them go? Their human genetic donor had been killed by their Kryptonian one - and the scientists repeated over and over again that neither of them were ready to meet him yet._

_The scientists were harsh with the two of them – any single misstep or attempt to do anything but they were told to do, and their punishments were particularly hard. Kr hated the electrical cuffs and collars attached to the both of them – as the charges that could be pushed into them through them were intensely painful, and though Match wasn’t as affected as he was, the other would always pick him up, if he was able, after Kr recovered enough from the shock that he received to move a little again._

_Kr **really** hated it when they brought out a strangely glowing green rock – the name of which hadn’t been given to either of them. The presence of the rock would bring Match to his knees in an instant – and Kr would feel himself fall again. That awful green rock also meant that they would be shocked repeatedly, while the G-gnomes buried their psychic tendrils even deeper into both of their psyche. Kr already understood that they were living weapons, meant to be used in the defense of Cadmus… All of this was entirely unnecessary – although Kr wasn’t sure what or why they were in need of weapons – he knew better than to ask, as questioning **anything** beyond clarification of a task that he’d been given meant more electrical punishment._

_The head scientist had Match strapped down to a metal table – and Kr was watching anxiously from an observation room – a green chunk of rock that even from the distance that Kr was from it, made him weak at the knees and close to throwing up (… which would mean getting shocked and forced to clean it up with his hands, for making the area dirty). The head scientist – Desmond something – held a sharp knife, and the other grinned down at Match – who was staring up at him, only just conscious – and he said “Today I am going to be testing how quickly you heal – and do try not to scream, Match.” With that, the other brought the knife down, aiming for the other’s chest._

_Panic seized Kr as he saw the swing, and he threw himself at the glass, crying out “No! D-don’t hurt him!” He bounced off the glass and growled a little in frustration – backing up several steps and charging the glass, shattering it as he fell into the larger room, groaning and shuddering a little as the proximity to the strange, glowing rock robbed him of strength. He could barely breathe and everything **hurt** so badly._

_Desmond had whirled around, and a terrible scowl appeared on his face. He shook his head a little, murmuring “Match asked me to perform this test on him, so that you would be spared the pain – but you’ve gone and made a mess, you stupid weapon. I was considering actually not marking you at all, with the Kryptonite so that I could pierce your skin, to see if the two of you healed at different rates, given that you are only **half** Kryptonian…” _

_He raised the knife, moving closer to Kr, and Match struggled weakly in his restraints “No! You… you promised, you miserable… Miserable piece of human scum! Kr… Kr panicked…” His eyes were a bright, angry red, but with the Kryptonite so close, there was little the young Kryptonian clone could do but talk, to his endless frustration._

_Alarms blared, startling the three of them – and one of the other scientists ran over to the edge, shouting “The Justice Lords have entered the facility! We need to get out of here, before they catch us! We have already initiated the protocols in order to hide the information stored here, sir. But… We need to get moving. **All** of the Justice Lords are present, and seem to be intent on tearing this facility apart!”_

_D_ _esmond growled, eyes flashing in irritation, before he glanced down at the two of them. He ordered “Release the virus that will destroy all of the computer files – and make sure that it’s deleted at least half of everything we have here, then leave through the emergency tunnels. I will follow after I deal with **these two**.”_

_Kr was slowly trying to inch towards the awful glowing green rock – there was a box that the scientists kept the stuff in that negated it’s awful effects, and if he could get the box to fall onto the awful rock, it would make both of them feel better. From what Kr remembered of the Justice Lords from their training, they were a group of non-governmental vigilantes and heroes who fought against villains – but they were also dangerous, and one of them… One of them was their genetic donor – Lord Superman. Kr’s heart skipped a couple of beats, wondering what it would be like to actually meet the other.  He had done so much good in the world, and both Kr and Match looked up to the other quite a bit._

_Not that Lord Superman was aware that the two of them existed… And neither of the young clones were sure of how the other would take to their presence. Kr hoped that the other would accept them readily… Whereas Match was certain that the other might reject them – at least at first, because they’d been created without the other’s knowledge or consent… Which was very true. When Desmond looked at him, he stopped moving, hoping that the other wouldn’t notice what he was doing._

_"_ _And just what do you think you’re doing, Kr? I certainly hope that you’re not about to try to do anything that would get you punished. I want you to delay the advance of the Justice Lords in any way you can – and you better do as I say, otherwise Match is going to suffer for your disobedience. I know that you can move in the presence of Kryptonite – even at this distance. **Now** Kr.” Desmond ordered_ _raising the knife and lightly placing it on Match's neck ever so lightly, though the razor sharp knife (or was it a scalpel? Kr wasn't sure of the difference) caused a drop of blood to drip from his older brother's neck. Match, despite obviously not wanting to, flinched under the knife, hissing a little, his eyes burning a brighter red. Desmond had made sure to cut his neck above the shock collar on his older brother's neck._

_"I was... I was just moving, sir... I... I'll do as you s-say... J-Just please don't hurt Match!" Kr promised, unsteadily getting to his feet and staggering off towards the stairs, horrified and miserable. He knew when he was outside of the range of effect that the Kryptonite had, as his hearing and other senses kicked in - he could hear the panicked sounds of the scientists as they frantically tried to hide what they'd been doing from the Justice Lords - and he could also hear the distant sounds of fighting. He didn't want to do this - but Match was in danger, and Kr knew that the other would do much, much worse than lightly cut Match's neck, should he disobey._

_He sought out heartbeats that he didn't recognize - as they would likely be members of the Justice Lords, as transfers to this facility were very, very rare. All too soon, Kr found a couple of members of the Justice League - Lady Wonder Woman and Lord Green Lantern - the former was holding a scientist by the neck, demanding that they explain themselves - while the latter was grappling with a couple members of security. There was a third heartbeat that belonged to someone else, but they were also... Oddly familiar sounding. Pushing that thought away, Kr cleared his throat a little, murmuring quietly "I'd rather not fight you... But I have no choice." With that he charged after the stronger member of the Justice Lords - moving as fast as the limited space allowed him to, running into her at full force._

_At least, that was the plan. She simply stepped out of the way, before redirecting where he was running, having dropped the still whimpering scientist, who was slowly trying to escape. "Who are you? It is obvious that you do not work here - but why are you helping them?" She had wrapped a golden bit of rope around him - Kr recognized it as the Lasso of truth._

_The words came spilling from his lips, even as a distant part of his mind (that sounded a lot like Desmond, actually) told him that he was just going to get Match and himself killed for speaking. "I am project Kr, a genomorph... A clone of The Lord Superman, ma'am. I am a living weapon, and the head scientist ordered me to delay you as long as possible, so that the others could escape... And I did as I was told - particularly since he has... he has Project Match - a second, older and full Kryptonian clone of The Lord Superman... he has Kryptonite in the room, and has threatened to hurt Match, should I disobey him... He's... He's hurt.. P-punished us before for disobedience... They are trying to destroy all of the information they have in this place - not that I know where it is - in order to deny all of you that information. Desmond is... He's the head scientist here - or at least the one in charge of Match and myself, ma'am."_

_An expression of horror flashed across Lady Wonder Woman's face, and he flinched at her reaction - wondering just what she was going to do to him. They'd been warned, over and over again, that should they escape and try to contact the Justice Lords, they would be killed for being living weapons... Or for being clones of Lord Superman. Kr knew that it was rare that the scientists even tried to lie to them, and started to shake a little, pleading softly "If... If you must take one of our lives at least.. Th-then take mine. Match is s-stronger t-than I am and he... He'll be more of an effective weapon for your cause, ma'am..."_

_"_ _... Why do you think that I'm about to kill you?" Lady Wonder woman asked, her voice sharp - sharp like Desmond's was, just before he st the electric collars and cuffs to cause the two of them pain for a long time. Lord Green Lantern - who had just finished dealing with the guards he'd been fighting against, was frowning at his response, and their reactions were making the young  clone more anxious._

_Kr cringed a little, his hands betraying how badly he was shaking as he stammered out "I... th-that's... Th-that's wh-what the scientists s-s-said... That if... I-If we e-ever esca-escaped and t-tried to c-contact you... That... That we... w-w-we would be ki-killed for being his cl-clones... F-for being weapons, m'ma'am..."_

_"They told you that, in order to make sure that you wouldn't escape." A third voice spoke. Lord Superman stepped further into the room, heading straight for the trapped clone. The other raised a hand up to his face, pausing for a moment when Kr flinched, before lightly touching one of his cheeks. "I would not hurt you,  young one, and nor would I allow any of my friends to hurt you... Although I doubt that they would. How old are you?"_

_Despite the fear and anxiety still pulsing through him, Kr couldn't help but melt into the other's touch - the only other person to be this gentle with him was his older brother and the young clone couldn't help but calm down. He answered quietly (still honest, because the Lasso of truth was still wrapped firmly around his waist) "I am six months old, sir. They artificially aged both Match and Myself for sixteen weeks... they were able to successfully create Match first, but he... They couldn't control him, then... So they put him into stasis, and worked on making... Making me. I am a half-human clone and they... They were better able to train me and... and decided to see how Match took to me. He decided that I was his little brother and his... And the scientists could get him to behave as they wanted by threatening me, sir. They... They did punish me a few times, when Match misbehaved, to... To prove to him that it wasn't an idle threat."_

_"I see. I am guessing that these... things on your neck, wrist and ankles  are... deterrents of some kind?" Lord Superman asked, frowning a little as he gestured to them. "Where is Match?"_

_"Yes sir, they give out electric shocks when we are misbehaving or are in... In need of correction. And Match isn't far - he's in the room down the stairs and three doors to the left. B-But there is... Kryptonite? I think that's what they called it, in that room. He was... Desmond, I mean, sir... Was planning on seeing how long it took M-Match to h-heal from certain wounds, after the Kryptonite was removed. They... They will also occasionally l-lock us in a room with the K-Kryptonite for a couple of hours while... While the G-gnomes educate us by putting information in our minds..."_

_"... I see. Who is in that room, apart from Match and this... Desmond? At least, when you were last in there?" Lord Superman responded, his voice low and growly, prompting Kr to shake a little, afraid that he'd upset the other.  The adult Kryptonian moved closer and pressed Kr in close, hugging him, murmuring gently as he started to pet Kr's hair, in a gesture that was very similar to Match "Easy... Easy, young one. I am not angry with you. Several of my teammates are going to rescue your older brother, and I want to be sure that they know what they are facing, from what you know."_

_"Unless something changed from then until now... J-just the two of them are in there, sir. The other scientists are trying to flee the building, to escape you and the other members of the justice lords." Kr responded honestly._

_"I see... Wonder woman, Green lantern... If you would rescue my older son please? I'm sure that my younger would calm down, if he knew that Match was safe...  Hmm... Both of you are going to need proper names, once I and my friends rescue the two of you.” Lord Superman murmured, voice warm and kind still._

_Kr clung to his father – his heart soaring and a grin appearing on his face, as he clung tightly to the other. The other accepted him for what he was, and seemed to actually **care** , despite what the scientist had told them over and over again. “Thank you, father!”_

_“Of course, Superman. We’ll be sure he’s safe – and secure the Kryptonite as well.” Lady Wonder Woman responded, nodding as she released him from the lasso of truth – and the pair of them rushed off._

 Conner woke out of his reverie as one of the baristas called out again, from the counter “Uhm… have you made a decision on what you’d like to eat? You’ve been staring at nothing for the past twenty minutes or so.”

 “I… Sorry, I hadn’t meant to stare off into space like that… And I’d already ordered a hot chocolate.” Conner pointed out, raising the drink next to him. Lois had yet to enter the café, but he could see her in the crowd – she was coming closer and might recognize him. But should he try to speak with her, to arrange this? If Lord Superman found out about this, he would see it as a betrayal, and the guilt that Conner had been trying to ignore since he’d first come up with the idea hit him at full force. His father had done so much for him, and there were very good reasons why Jon had been separated from her… And the brief contact would most likely further upset Jon, rather than make him happy. “I’m headed out, anyways. I’ve got… to go somewhere else. The hot chocolate was good, though.”

Conner swiftly packed his things up, downing the hot chocolate in a couple of gulps, getting up and about to leave, when a vaguely familiar voice called out “Hey! You look just like a former coworker of mine, Clark. Do you know what happened to him? I know that his wife, Lois, misses him terribly.”

The young clone froze, startled by the question, as a middle aged human appeared out of nowhere and grabbed one of his hands “Come on – Lois is this way. You look so much like Clark, it’s eerie. Are you his kid brother he never told us about or something?”

“I-” Conner managed out in protest, not wanting to go near her, all of a sudden, realizing that what he’d been about to do was an utter betrayal of his father’s trust and that was something that the young clone had never, ever wanted to do “I’m sorry, but I have no idea who you’re talking about. I have to get to class soon, and need to get going. I’m probably going to be late as it is.” He wasn’t sure why he was allowing the other to drag him out of the café, but somehow that was happening.

The reporter rolled his eyes “Don’t try to lie to a reporter, kid. Especially since I’m pretty sure you _are_ related to Clark. You have the same twitch when you lie that he does. Lois is this way, and you _have to_ know what happened to him… I know that you might be a little… Anxious… Depending on why he went missing, but there’s at least a pretense of free speech, and if we talk where the Daily Planet is, we’ll be relatively safe. Hey Lois!” 

“Why are you shouting, Jimmy?” Lois asked, a sigh in her voice as she made her way over to the two of them, stopping dead as she stared at him, looking him over slowly. “… Jimmy, where did you find him?” She asked as she gestured towards Conner, tensing a little.

 “He was in the café across the street, why?” Jimmy asked, a slightly confused expression on his face.

 “… Why were you there?” Lois asked sharply, eyes narrowing a little at Conner, who shrunk a little in on himself. 

“… If you must know… Jon misses you, and since… Since the others are busy, I thought it might be a good idea to bring him over to see you for a little bit. But I’ve decided that was a horrible idea. Let me _go_ Olsen. I have things to do.” Conner growled defensively, shaking the human’s hand off as he rushed off. He ran faster when he heard Lois and Olsen chase after him.


End file.
